Who needs shoelaces to win an ATP World Tour quarter-final? Greek #NextGenATP star Stefanos Tsitsipas was up against a motivated World No. 10 David Goffin in Antwerp, with the in-form top seed battling for a spot in the Nitto ATP Finals in November. Tsitsipas’ shoelaces on his left sneaker broke from sliding, and by the end of the second set his replacement set did as well. It was no problem for the 19 year old, who had never been in an ATP World Tour quarter-final, and has qualified at his past five tour-level events. He borrowed his father’s laces and went on to defeat Goffin, 2-6, 7-6(1), 7-6(4) in two hours, 33 minutes at the European Open on Friday. “I...
While #NextGenATP Daniil Medvedev did well in Moscow to move into the final qualifying position in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan, the story of the week took over at the VTB Kremlin Cup, a tournament Bosnian tennis fans will not soon forget. With two Bosnians in an ATP World Tour quarter-final at the same tournament for the first time, the nation’s duo went one better, with qualifier Mirza Basic and sixth seed Damir Dzumhur both advancing to the semi-finals. Basic, playing in his first ATP World Tour quarter-final, beat 21-year-old Russian Medvedev, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to advance to his first semi-final in one hour and 41 minutes. The Bosnian, who is at No. 209 in the Emirates ATP Rankings,...
The sixth time was the charm for Nitto ATP Finals contender Grigor Dimitrov, who took six match points to defeat veteran left-hander Mischa Zverev, 6-3, 6-4 at the Intrum Stockholm Open on Friday, moving closer to securing his spot at The O2 in London. “Very happy with it. It’s nice to get through that match in straight sets,” Dimitrov said. “I knew it was not going to be easy but at the same time I thought I kept a very good intensity throughout the whole match.” Dimitrov, still No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, now has 3,500 points, moving to within 35 points of No. 5 Marin Cilic, who is not in action this week. The 26-year-old,...
Top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov moved closer to securing his first appearance in the Nitto ATP Finals with a tightly contested victory over qualifier Jerzy Janowicz, 7-5, 7-6(5) in the second round of the Intrum Stockholm Open on Thursday. The 2013 champion struck nine aces and dropped just five points on his first serve to triumph and begin his campaign toward another title in Sweden. “I knew it was going to come down to a few points in the first or the second set,” said Dimitrov, who entered the match holding a 2-2 record in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Janowicz. “He’s a super-talented player, especially indoors. He served unbelievable, so I was struggling quite a bit to find my way...
South African Kevin Anderson stepped up his bid on Thursday for one of the four remaining places at the Nitto ATP Finals when he knocked out #NextGenATP South Korean Hyeon Chung 6-3, 6-2 for a place in the Intrum Stockholm Open quarter-finals. The second seed struck 18 aces and won 28 of his 32 first-service points to improve to a 32-18 mark on the season. “In the beginning I felt I was hitting the ball great and I was creating opportunities,” said Anderson. “He was hanging in there and it took me quite a few attempts to break serve. He defends so well and is a great athlete, so for me to come off the court with that scoreline feels...
